One easy way to get money back if you shop at Rite Aid is to enter your reciepts into their website. If there are any rebates you can request the check online. I do it all the time and frequently there are rebates for things I didn't even realize had rebates.
I just posted this as a reply to a comment, but thought people might be interested and might miss that, so here is a link: [littlemissknowitall.net]
"Coupon Queens don't shop like normal people. Normal shoppers go to the store with a list of things they need, and then try to match coupons to those items. You wander up and down the aisles and spend hours trying to find the right coupon to go with the right item. In the end, you discover that generic is often cheaper, and the hours you spent using coupons saved you under $15. Doesn't exactly seem like its worth the effort.
But that's not how a Coupon Queen shops. We go into the store armed with a list of things we know are on sale, and coupons for those items. 75% of the time those items are free. I don't shop for items I need. Wait, did I say that? I can see the confused looks on your faces….because I was confused at first too. I don't shop for what I need. I shop for what's free."
It's interesting to hear the truth about it, but a bit demoralizing. I just don't have the time, energy or space to do it.
@thenwemadeout: If it helps, she explains later that she shops for stuff she doesn't need *right now* and after sales and coupons, stuff is free. She doesn't shop for junk she won't use. She buys stuff, stores it, then uses it when she runs out. I really don't think your interpretation is fair.
When I lived in LA, the grocery stores not only accepted coupons, they would DOUBLE the value, up to a dollar. Between the club card discount and coupons, I'd often be able to lop off a good third of my grocery bill. Here in NYC, no stores double coupons, and the clerks look at you like you're crazy if you even try to hand them one.
Also, I ONLY used coupons for things I would buy anyway. I would try in my head to figure out the per-unit price on the generic versus the per-unit price on the brand name item + the doubled coupon, and only buy the brand name if it was in fact cheaper.
@Emmersct: Here in TX most grocery stores list the price per unit/ounce/what have you on the price label. It's awesome. But even if they don't update it for a sale price, I'll whip out my phone and do the calculations. 2 cents per ounce adds up!
I have too much brand loyalty for coupons to work, especially with food. I want my Classico tomato sauce, Tropicana juice and Progresso soups. The coupons are never for those.
@sportz.star: check out shortcuts.com! I found some progresso coupons there. All the Fi eats for lunch are creamy progresso soups or lean cuisines. Nerd.
@sportz.star: I'm registered at Shortcuts.com and they often have coupons for good brands that I use... I just bought some Progresso soups with a discount from there, and I have coupons for Hellmann's mayo and Green Giant vegetables. Of course, for Shortcuts.com to be helpful to you, you have to have one of their participating grocery stores in your area, but I dig them... and it's so much easier to just pick the coupons I want and have them automatically applied than having to print/clip things.
@AthertonMerriweather: I found a coupon for carrots once. I wanted to frame it, such a rarity. For meats and fresh veggies, I try to just keep track of how much they cost from week to week, so on a day when it's really cheap I can stock up. then I split the meat up into portions of 2, or blanch the veggies and freeze them.
@AthertonMerriweather: I totally agree. It's always saving money on HFCS laced garbage. Or they are for ridiculously priced household items like cleaning supplies where I can buy the generic one and it's still cheaper.
@AthertonMerriweather: coupons are for all the sucky foods - I want coupons for organic tomatoes and free range chickens and fair trade coffee....not canned Green Giant Tomatoes, Oscar Meyer and Folgers!
...though I do think it nice that this woman donates food her family doesn't need - she is basically carbon offsetting because while I didn't read the article completely, if you are spending close to $800 a month is food, you got at least two kids.
@AthertonMerriweather: ME TOO. It's so frustrating... I don't buy All-Natural All-Organic all the time or anything, but I avoid prepackaged/processed stuff as much as possible. It's kind of depressing to think that I'm already shopping as cheaply as I can.
@LBB: Don't forget, if something has a thick peel you aren't going to eat, you don't have to worry about it being organic. I only buy organic meat/eggs/milk and produce with a peel I eat or no peel at all. Organic oranges? The amount of bad stuff you're exposing yourself to, in my opinion, isn't worth the cost.
Also, if you can find local meat farmers/ranchers, a lot of times they cannot afford organic certification but do basically everything they can to keep their products free of hormones, so that helps, too. I've been buying grass-fed local beef from a couple that lives about 40 minutes away from me for almost 6 months -- not only are the prices cheaper, I'm actually doing better for the environment and all, too. But I live in TX so it's easy to find animal products locally.
@prestocaro: washed, ready to eat: That's good advice... we have an abundance of local produce here in CA (farmers markets for the epic win) but I haven't looked into local meats yet, partly because I mostly cook chicken and can get hormone-free chicken in stores. If it isn't scary expensive, though, I'd totally switch to local meat if only because it takes less fossil fuel to get it from the farm to my fridge.
@prestocaro: washed, ready to eat: ut organic is not about focusing on what you are ingesting, its about farming in a way that is good for the environment, the watershed, perma-culture et al
Frankly, anyone who does not buy their produce IN season (that means no "summer" fruit in "winter" ladies) and from local CSA's or Farmer's Markets is not doing our earth any good at all. But that is a separate conversation.
I buy Whistling Train Farm (1 hour bike ride from my house) and Thundering Hooves & Skagit Valley beef and pork (which offers Meat Buying Clubs once monthly in Seattle)
But I'm digressing....off topic about useless coupons
I've done the coupon clipping thing and web coupons but Walmart and Target (at least in my area) refuses to take any coupon that looks like it was from a printer or photocopied.
So I can only go to individual company sites and sign up to get coupons in the mail and I use those when possible.
Tips:
- If you go to Walmart.com, you can sign up and get free samples sent to you. Those samples usually contain coupons.
- Tampax Pearl Compax Multipax (I know, that's a lot of "ax") - each box (there's 4 in a multipax) has a coupon for $1 off Tampax tampons. I've got like 12 of em.
- Check out Consumerist.com - they have great daily deals that also include coupons sometimes.
1500.00!? How much stuff is she honestly buying in the first place that she can really and truly save 1500.00 on it?! I spend like $40 a week on groceries, and even THAT seems kind of extravagant for me--where in hell am I going to get $1500.00 back from THAT?
Unless she has discovered some magical coupon that I can hand to my landlord and be all "LOL THIS IS GOOD FOR $895.00!!11" I don't have the vaguest idea how she is managing this, unless she has to buy a fucking Kia every month.
@tscheese: I spend the same amount, and I don't think it's POSSIBLE to cut down that amount unless the cost of things like flour, sugar and canned beans suddenly drops to fifty cents a pound :P
Ok, I truly appreciate this article. I've been wanting to do coupons for awhile, but it's kind of overwhelming trying to find out which sites are worth the time.
@victoriaandrahmsittinginatree: A great site that IO frequent is slickdeals.net. Go to the drug store and grocery store forum- I think there's even a post about getting started!
my mom always saves so much with coupons. She spends a couple hours with the Sunday paper every week clipping and planning meals around sales and coupons. I really need to get over my pride and start clipping, too, because I know she saves hundreds of dollars a month doing so. My momma is a smart lady.
@Beets.Go.On: I'm not a "couponer" but I am a sales-listmaker. Frequently, I dig the challenge presented by a killer sale on an unfamiliar cut of meat. And by planning meals then making a list that's based on the layout of my favorite store, I can avoid backtracking all over the store past all of those temptation items.
In other news, I'm a dork. Some kind of grocery dork. Special.
Not that donating food and other items to those in need is wrong, but when I read the article it seems that donating it was an afterthought when they noticed they didn't have any room left in the house.
It's not actually saving money if you're buying things that you weren't going to buy anyhow.
@rmric0: It could also be like shopping at Costco. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy more bananas than you'll be able to use, because 20 bananas at Costco is less than 6 bananas at the grocery store. No sense letting food go to waste.
I've tried. Can't do it. It seems coupons are always for stuff that I would never buy, and even if I cut them out I forget to bring them to the store. I am doomed to be poor.
@katie.scarlett.o'hara: Just buy store-brand when possible. The trouble (and point to) coupons is that you end up Saving 50 cents! on something that was either not necessary or more expensive than similar brands on the shelf.
Ok, I get coupons online (from Grocerygame.com and coupons.com, etc.) and I can't manage to make it add up to more that like $4/trip, tops. What the hell am I doing wrong?
@thevickinator: I know! i cut coupons every week and don't save that much! i saw one lady who buys what is on sale and what she has coupons for. I think that is the secret.
@thevickinator: Find out if/when your grocery store doubles or triples coupons. Also, keeping track of how much things you normally buy can help to save $$, too -- you'll notice when it's super cheap and stock up.
@thevickinator: I usually fail at mega-coupon savings too... most of my savings come from buying things like store brand canned vegetables/beans/etc. when they're on special.
@skittishpixie: That and you have to combine coupons. For instance, one week I was able to buy my LOreal foundation at Walgreens for about two dollars because I had a mfg coupon and a Walgreens coupon.
@thevickinator: I'm like that too. I try so hard! But I found this blog called Little Miss Know It All, and she explained the answer to this exact question.
She says: "Coupon Queens don't shop like normal people. Normal shoppers go to the store with a list of things they need, and then try to match coupons to those items. You wander up and down the aisles and spend hours trying to find the right coupon to go with the right item. In the end, you discover that generic is often cheaper, and the hours you spent using coupons saved you under $15. Doesn't exactly seem like its worth the effort.
But that's not how a Coupon Queen shops. We go into the store armed with a list of things we know are on sale, and coupons for those items. 75% of the time those items are free. I don't shop for items I need. Wait, did I say that? I can see the confused looks on your faces….because I was confused at first too. I don't shop for what I need. I shop for what's free."
@thevickinator: Your problem is probably that you're not buying enough Jello and processed cheese food, and/or you're not buying for a family of five. I have been on coupon kicks in the past after reading stories like this and thinking I was going to save enough money to pay off my student loans. What I always discover is that in order to save significant amounts of money I have to buy significant amounts of food, and it's usually the kind of highly processed, kid-friendly foods I avoid.
On to plan B where I save a million dollars by not drinking lattes!
@thevickinator: I used to be a major coupon shopper, but coming to NYC, with their smaller stores and stocks, their pickiness about coupons and no doubling AT ALL,, that it's not worth the trouble any more. And sweetbeans is right: you don't see a lot coupons for brown rice and canned beans, it's all Go-gurt and Froot-Loops.
@sweetbeans: "Your problem is probably that you're not buying enough Jello and processed cheese food, and/or you're not buying for a family of five."
I routinely save 15-25% off my total grocery bill buying for two people and two cats, buying primarily ingredients (not premade meals) and lots of organics. And I have never bought cheese food in my life.
Great coupons include:
*Baking supplies, including flour, baking soda, sugar (all the time!), occasionally yeast, and particularly spices. (Spices are expensive little MFers, and the coupons are pretty regular.)
*Dairy, including organic dairy. But not eggs, the coupons are only on the "premium" brands.
*Coupons from the X Association -- apple growers, american dairy, whatever. You can generally use these on ANY apples or ANY milk or ANY whatever in the store.
*Coupons for the few packaged foods we do eat -- in particular my husband's syrup and my granola bars. I'm not picky about what brand they are, so I go for coupon or cheapest, as long as it's tolerable. (Like the store-brand version of Special K bars? Not tolerable. Store brand of nutrigrain? Fine.) Also included here is salad dressing, ketchup, and other condiments. These coupons run very regularly for almost all brands.
*Pet supplies. IAMS runs coupons pretty regularly, often for 50 cents or $1, but sometimes for $2. Those are my faves. Litter also has pretty regular coupons, as do cat treats. These really add up.
*Canned soup and soup stock. I actually DO make my own soup and soup stock, but I like to have Campbell's comfort-food soup on hand for when I'm sick, and if you cook a lot, you can go through soup stock pretty fast.
*Personal care products. If you buy from major national brands for any personal care products, there are probably coupons at least monthly. Drugs like Tylenol, NyQuil, etc., also run frequent coupons. Sometimes the store brand is still cheaper, but sometimes these are buy 1, get 1 or $2 coupons or whatever. Neutrogena runs great coupons. Feminine hygiene products also run good coupons.
*Household supplies, including toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, kitchen cleaners, etc. Some of these I buy "green" brands that don't usually coupon or make my own at home, but others coupon frequently.
I usually clip them Sunday nights while watching the Simpsons or something, pop them in a little sorter, and make a grocery list while poking through the sorter for coupons. I only clip coupons for things I would buy anyway even without the coupon. (Except sometimes sweets, my husband has a real sweet tooth, so if there's a good coupon for some candy he likes, I'll buy that even though I wouldn't usually.)
If I put actual effort into it and matched the coupons to sales cycles and things like that, I could save quite a bit more. But it's easy to save 15% just buying the things you normally buy and the brands you normally like. (Some things I buy generic because I don't care, but other things I like one particular kind, so I buy the brand.) Even if you're only couponing household supplies and personal care products, that can really add up.
@hortense: As a proud midwesterner, I don't think my mouth is genetically capable of saying "cou-pon." Now pardon me, I need to have a glass of melk and do my warsh. Does anyone have any whupped cream?
All kidding aside, fly-over =/= obnoxious. Coasties have foibles too, ya know.
@Chamalla: I've lived my entire life in the midwest, and I say cou-pon, milk, wash, and whipped. And also bay-guhl (not beg-ell, as I've heard), pill-o (not pell-o), and Ill-ih-noy (not Ill-ih-noys). I always thought those were southern-isms, not midwesternisms. Yes, I consider southern Illinois "southern." (But not the South.)
@TrixieCanary: I'm in Indiana, we've always had somewhat of a cultural identity crisis. Northern Hoosiers tend to run with dialects from Chicago, Michigan and Minnesota, where those of us in the lower two-thirds tend to pick up more of the southern dialects from KY and TN. So we collectively have a unique interpretation of vowel sounds. The southerners have a bit more of a lilt and a cadence than we do. Calling my accent "midwestern" is probably a bit unspecific, but not many people outside of Indy would understand if I called it "Hoosier."
@Uncommon Whore: I just realized it was sherbet, not sherbeRt last year. My sophomore year in college. I still am delighted at seeing no "r" in the signs of the frozen food aisle.
@Penny Plastic (Archetype): Eh, the linguist in me wants to tell you that it happens on accident most of the time - natural quick speech often makes it sound more like a 'd' than an 'n' I'm afraid.
02/06/09
02/06/09
"Coupon Queens don't shop like normal people. Normal shoppers go to the store with a list of things they need, and then try to match coupons to those items. You wander up and down the aisles and spend hours trying to find the right coupon to go with the right item. In the end, you discover that generic is often cheaper, and the hours you spent using coupons saved you under $15. Doesn't exactly seem like its worth the effort.
But that's not how a Coupon Queen shops. We go into the store armed with a list of things we know are on sale, and coupons for those items. 75% of the time those items are free. I don't shop for items I need. Wait, did I say that? I can see the confused looks on your faces….because I was confused at first too. I don't shop for what I need. I shop for what's free."
It's interesting to hear the truth about it, but a bit demoralizing. I just don't have the time, energy or space to do it.
02/06/09
02/06/09
02/06/09
Also, I ONLY used coupons for things I would buy anyway. I would try in my head to figure out the per-unit price on the generic versus the per-unit price on the brand name item + the doubled coupon, and only buy the brand name if it was in fact cheaper.
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...though I do think it nice that this woman donates food her family doesn't need - she is basically carbon offsetting because while I didn't read the article completely, if you are spending close to $800 a month is food, you got at least two kids.
02/06/09
02/06/09
Also, if you can find local meat farmers/ranchers, a lot of times they cannot afford organic certification but do basically everything they can to keep their products free of hormones, so that helps, too. I've been buying grass-fed local beef from a couple that lives about 40 minutes away from me for almost 6 months -- not only are the prices cheaper, I'm actually doing better for the environment and all, too. But I live in TX so it's easy to find animal products locally.
02/06/09
02/06/09
Frankly, anyone who does not buy their produce IN season (that means no "summer" fruit in "winter" ladies) and from local CSA's or Farmer's Markets is not doing our earth any good at all. But that is a separate conversation.
I buy Whistling Train Farm (1 hour bike ride from my house) and Thundering Hooves & Skagit Valley beef and pork (which offers Meat Buying Clubs once monthly in Seattle)
But I'm digressing....off topic about useless coupons
02/06/09
Ok, I'm in Canada. What produce should I be buying that's in season? ;)
Seriously, our local season for produce is wicked short, so there is not always a ton of options.
02/07/09
02/06/09
So I can only go to individual company sites and sign up to get coupons in the mail and I use those when possible.
Tips:
- If you go to Walmart.com, you can sign up and get free samples sent to you. Those samples usually contain coupons.
- Tampax Pearl Compax Multipax (I know, that's a lot of "ax") - each box (there's 4 in a multipax) has a coupon for $1 off Tampax tampons. I've got like 12 of em.
- Check out Consumerist.com - they have great daily deals that also include coupons sometimes.
02/06/09
Unless she has discovered some magical coupon that I can hand to my landlord and be all "LOL THIS IS GOOD FOR $895.00!!11" I don't have the vaguest idea how she is managing this, unless she has to buy a fucking Kia every month.
02/06/09
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Coupons: I M DOIN IT RONG.
02/06/09
In other news, I'm a dork. Some kind of grocery dork. Special.
02/06/09
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02/06/09
It's not actually saving money if you're buying things that you weren't going to buy anyhow.
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02/06/09
She says: "Coupon Queens don't shop like normal people. Normal shoppers go to the store with a list of things they need, and then try to match coupons to those items. You wander up and down the aisles and spend hours trying to find the right coupon to go with the right item. In the end, you discover that generic is often cheaper, and the hours you spent using coupons saved you under $15. Doesn't exactly seem like its worth the effort.
But that's not how a Coupon Queen shops. We go into the store armed with a list of things we know are on sale, and coupons for those items. 75% of the time those items are free. I don't shop for items I need. Wait, did I say that? I can see the confused looks on your faces….because I was confused at first too. I don't shop for what I need. I shop for what's free."
You can read the whole post here: [littlemissknowitall.net]
I kind of gave up when I read it, since I just am not going to work that hard.
02/06/09
On to plan B where I save a million dollars by not drinking lattes!
02/06/09
02/06/09
I routinely save 15-25% off my total grocery bill buying for two people and two cats, buying primarily ingredients (not premade meals) and lots of organics. And I have never bought cheese food in my life.
Great coupons include:
*Baking supplies, including flour, baking soda, sugar (all the time!), occasionally yeast, and particularly spices. (Spices are expensive little MFers, and the coupons are pretty regular.)
*Dairy, including organic dairy. But not eggs, the coupons are only on the "premium" brands.
*Coupons from the X Association -- apple growers, american dairy, whatever. You can generally use these on ANY apples or ANY milk or ANY whatever in the store.
*Coupons for the few packaged foods we do eat -- in particular my husband's syrup and my granola bars. I'm not picky about what brand they are, so I go for coupon or cheapest, as long as it's tolerable. (Like the store-brand version of Special K bars? Not tolerable. Store brand of nutrigrain? Fine.) Also included here is salad dressing, ketchup, and other condiments. These coupons run very regularly for almost all brands.
*Pet supplies. IAMS runs coupons pretty regularly, often for 50 cents or $1, but sometimes for $2. Those are my faves. Litter also has pretty regular coupons, as do cat treats. These really add up.
*Canned soup and soup stock. I actually DO make my own soup and soup stock, but I like to have Campbell's comfort-food soup on hand for when I'm sick, and if you cook a lot, you can go through soup stock pretty fast.
*Personal care products. If you buy from major national brands for any personal care products, there are probably coupons at least monthly. Drugs like Tylenol, NyQuil, etc., also run frequent coupons. Sometimes the store brand is still cheaper, but sometimes these are buy 1, get 1 or $2 coupons or whatever. Neutrogena runs great coupons. Feminine hygiene products also run good coupons.
*Household supplies, including toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, kitchen cleaners, etc. Some of these I buy "green" brands that don't usually coupon or make my own at home, but others coupon frequently.
I usually clip them Sunday nights while watching the Simpsons or something, pop them in a little sorter, and make a grocery list while poking through the sorter for coupons. I only clip coupons for things I would buy anyway even without the coupon. (Except sometimes sweets, my husband has a real sweet tooth, so if there's a good coupon for some candy he likes, I'll buy that even though I wouldn't usually.)
If I put actual effort into it and matched the coupons to sales cycles and things like that, I could save quite a bit more. But it's easy to save 15% just buying the things you normally buy and the brands you normally like. (Some things I buy generic because I don't care, but other things I like one particular kind, so I buy the brand.) Even if you're only couponing household supplies and personal care products, that can really add up.
02/06/09
Now say it with me, people: Cou-pon. Not Q-pon.
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All kidding aside, fly-over =/= obnoxious. Coasties have foibles too, ya know.
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AND I AM FROM THE NORTHEAST!
02/07/09
The non-linguist in me groans and agrees.
10/29/08
I also try to buy certain things at Duane Reade, where I get points that eventually add up to a $5 coupon.